Writers Play Judas to Chase

"He's been an iconic player for us." -- Amaro Jr.

Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Howard, Cole Hamels and Carlos Ruiz are the 5 remaining Phillies from the 2008 World Series winning postseason roster.

 "We've been together a long time and we've been through a lot," Manager Charlie Manuel said Sunday.

"We've had a good run," Utley said. "But I still feel like we can win here."

Under Charlie Manuel, the Phillies have always been a second-half team.

Over the last eight seasons, the Phillies have posted a .610 winning percentage after the All-Star break, second-best in baseball.

Their winning percentage post-All-Star Game since 2007 is .630.

That luck may be up.  On the other hand... Utley is back and producing, Domonic Brown is enjoying a torrid breakout season and both Ryan Howard and Cole Hamels can't possibly be as inept and cancerous to the team for another half a season.  Meanwhile, the team has a Cy Young candidate in Cliff Lee and a top-shelf closer in Jonathan Papelbon.  None of that has any guarantee of translating into wins, however, nor has it thus far this year.

"Since I've been here in Philadelphia," manager Charlie Manuel said, "we've gotten off to starts just like this. Here, you don't ever quit, you don't ever get down, you don't ever think you're whipped, stuff like that."

This day last season the Phils were pounded 11-1 by the Mets amidst a shockingly inept 1-and-10 free-fall.  They fell to 37-51 behind a 1-6 cliff Lee on July 13th.

Utley & Howard ignited the '12 Phils to a 44-30 2nd half run.

Then, when Utley and Howard returned during the second half of the season, the Phillies went 44-30 and miraculously pulled to within playoff contention late, only to finish 81-81, 7 games out of a Wild Card playoff spot.

"We tend to play better baseball late in the season for whatever reason," Utley said. "I can't put my finger on why, but it's a fact. And we all want to win."
 
Utley recently batted .368 during a 9-game hitting streak with 4 HR, 2 2B and 12 runs scored.  He will be top prize at the imminent trade deadline feeding frenzy.

General Manager Ruben Amaro Jr. will have to decide whether he is ready to let go of short term playoff hopes to begin a slow rebuilding process, which he could jump-start by dealing Utley.

Utley, 34 is one of the most respected players in baseball.  There is speculation he may be traded in coming days.  If he is, his presence on the team would be missed immediately.  He is in the final year of a seven-year, $85 million contract. He missed a month this season because of a strained right oblique and missed much of the previous two seasons because of knee injuries, but he is hitting .282 with 12 doubles, 3 triples, 11 home runs, 30 RBIs and an .856 on-base-plus-slugging percentage. Utley's OPS is tied with Robinson Cano for the third best among second basemen in baseball. His .521 slugging percentage is his highest since a .535 mark in '08.

Utley has led with his actions speaking for him.

When asked Friday if he was entertaining the possibility of trading Chase Utley, Amaro Jr. said:

"He's been an iconic player for us.  My intention would be to keep him in our uniform for the rest of his career, if possible.  I kind of view Chase as a Phillie for life. That's my hope."

However, Cole Hamels had an alternate, more calculated view, one echoed by many around Philadelphia lately:  "You can't keep the same regime forever," Hamels said. "It doesn't last. I think every player gets to the point in their career when they're finally pushed out. That's sports. Organizations want to put winning teams on the field. If you're not able to do it, they have to switch it around no matter how great a player is or what type of qualities they bring. Sometimes a switch-up is refreshing for a business. It's like any business. CEOs leave, and they were great CEOs."

Utley spoke with a veteran's wisdom: "Any time you're at the end of your contract and your team isn't doing as well as it could be doing, your name is going to be out there in trade talks.  I get it. Everyone in this clubhouse gets it. We still have a month to play. We can put ourselves back in contention pretty easily. But we've got to play good baseball."

Should the Phillies trade Chase Utley? Yes. 2330 (49.9%) No. 2342 (50.1%) Total votes = 4672
Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/phillies/20130702_Now_is_the_time_to_trade_Utley.html#CtHM4qcPpgrUQHBQ.9

Public opinion on whether Utley should be traded couldn't be more evenly split among Phillies fans, as reflected in a local poll:

Should the Phillies trade Chase Utley?
Yes.
	2392 (50.1%)
No.
	2383 (49.9%)
Total votes = 4775

Yet, the Philly press has united behind a singular opinion: trade him and do it now.  While these opinions published in a flurry the past few days do yield to a certain logic, as presented first in my post "Chase Utley Being Traded?" (6/27), it is a disturbing clamor nonetheless.

Utley's famous fake, then throw home in the '08 World Series.

It's understandable that they feel Utley should go.  After all, he is the epitome of the strong silent type.  He is the last person on the field to give a colorful comment and is almost always secretive and almost never quote-worthy.  He displays good baseball intelligence more often than he makes good newspaper headlines.  Furthermore, with his injury absences the past few years, it's easy to tag him as a face for these Phils who aren't producing in the manner we all became accustomed to from 2007-2011.

We are a "What have you done for me lately?" culture.  In that climate, a second straight season of mediocrity, especially contrasted with 5 preceding years of success, can feel like eternity.  

However, the truth is that whatever the Phils get in return will feel like a hill of beans to fans.  A mystified reception would meet the team if #26 is replaced at 2nd Base, permanently, by Freddy Galvis, prior to his elective retirement.   Furthermore, if the Phils get for Utley what they got for Victorino last season (reliever Josh Lindblom and minor league pitcher Ethan Martin;  Martin has yet to pitch in the majors and Lindblom is now on the Texas Rangers), then it WILL amount to a hill of beans.

How will it feel to look at the spot on the field that has belonged to Utley since he won it from Placido Polanco in '04 and know that he is not absent with injury but due to being shipped off to complete his career elsewhere?  Can you imagine Utley returning to Philly to play against the Phils?

"World F-ing Champions" Parade, '08.

One of the reporters insisting on Utley's departure is soon to be 30 years old and, depending on which statement on his own Linkedin account is accurate, has been the team beat writer "1 year, 6 months" or "4 years, 1 month."  Either way, it's a fraction of Utley's tenure with the Phils, a span of 11 years which have been the most successful in team history.

Remember when the 76ers traded away Moses Malone (and Terry Catledge for Jeff Ruland and Cliff Robinson)?  More recently, they dealt Allen Iverson (albeit under his own demand).  The team had to advance, they claimed.  They needed a new identity, much as people are now saying about these Phils.  Iverson was iconic to fans much like Utley is today.  That was '06.  The 76ers disappeared into irrelevant status overnight and have yet to be heard from since.  Fans are still waiting for their "new identity," nearly 10 season later.  Based on the 76ers recent moves to dump salary, it appears as though the wait is long from over.

In baseball, of course, teams are comprised of 9 players on the field at one time, not 5.  The impact of one player is less important in the box score of each game than it is in basketball.  Of course, you can't find grit, work ethic or leadership by example in the box score.  You won't find it on the back of a baseball card and it won't flash across the screen when a player bats.  If it did, when Utley was up, it might read:

".988 grit, .999 work ethic, .990 leadership."

That won't sell newspapers, but it will define the future of the team as young players like Domonic Brown look around them for examples to help define their career as it develops.

Schmidt achieved patience and productivity in his twilight.

The '87 Phils finished 4th in the NL East at 80-82.  It was their 4th-straight year out of playoff contention.  In '86, behind Mike Schmidt's 3rd MVP season, they finished in 2nd place, but trailed the Mets by 21 1/2 games.  In '87, however, Schmidt finished with 35 HR, 113 RBI and a .293 ave.  In many ways, he outdid his own MVP season from the year before, especially since he hit his 500th HR that April.

Nonetheless, the Phils were going nowhere.  The existing team was no longer competitive.  They had outlived their glory days.  It was time to rebuild.  Perhaps they should have traded Schmidt.  At the time he was 37, yet he appeared to be improving in patience and contact at the plate.  His S.O. were down, his Ave. was up and his power numbers and RBI production were on par with peak seasons of his career.

Within 2 years Schmidt would shock the world with what appeared to be a premature retirement.  He would cite his own inability to compete at the level he had become accustomed to as a primary motivation.  At the time, though, he would have garnered some terrific prospects from a stacked team that was playoff bound, looking for that missing corner infielder to put them over the edge to title glory.

In those days, a thought like that would be unthinkable.  Chase Utley is no Mike Schmidt.  He hasn't played nearly the number of games Schmidt did, nor has he put up anywhere near the accumulative career numbers.  What Utley has done is preside over and in many ways drive the greatest era in Phillies history other than, and some argue including, Schmidt's.

If this were 1987, would we be talking about trading Utley rather than seeing him retire as a Phillie?  How much of this objectification of the player is a reflection of our times?

Utley's true worth is immeasurable.

“My plan is to stay a Phillie for life,” Utley said in July of '08, prior to winning the World Series with the Phils.  The following year, '09, the Phils repeated as NL Champs and Utley tied Reggie Jackson for the all-time single season World Series HR record with 5.

The thinking is that the team has to get better, at all cost.  Acquiring multiple younger talent may provide that.  There is logic to that.  However, even if (and it's a huge "if") trading Chase equals more wins, that logic doesn't take into account all the fans' reasons to come to the ballpark.  It takes into account winning and contention, but not love and appreciation.  It's dollars and cents without a heart.  At the end of the day, sports is a dramatic vehicle as dependent on empathetic protagonists (people we care about) to function as successful catharsis as movies or books are.

Utley's true value is as intangible as it is irreplaceable.  He is a rare athlete of the iconic kind, like Dr. J, Mike Schmidt, A.I.  His presence brings his team to another level of relevance.
  
Utley is a guy Philly fans have grown to love, to admire and to cheer.  With him, you have a mediocre baseball team worth building around and routing for.  Take him away, and you have a mediocre baseball team-- plus a hill of beans.